Neurodevelopmental SIG

The focus of the Neurodevelopmental SIG (Special Interest Group) is to improve care of children and young people with neurodevelopmental disorders (ADHD, ASD, DCD, DLD etc).

ACAMH’s longstanding commitment to multidisciplinary work is the ideal home for a Special Interest Group (SIG) for colleagues working with CYP with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Neurodevelopmental disorders are a neglected area of mental health practice, little mentioned in recent government policy documents.

The evidence base is strong in theory but often hard to put into practice at the front line. Unhelpful misunderstandings and prejudices persist both in the general population and in professionals.

Training in these conditions is piecemeal and often not well-integrated- the connections between them are not always appreciated and opportunities for intervention routinely missed. At both a local and national level, services are fragmented.

There is an urgent need for a unified approach across professions and sectors, with strong advocacy combined with sound evidence-based policy.

Principal Aims

  • production of educational materials and events which will cover neurodevelopmental issues from a multi-professional perspective
  • advocacy for rational, evidence-based policy responses to these conditions at a national level, and for research priorities which will produce actionable research that informs practice and/or policy
  • work with professional bodies to ensure adequate levels of understanding, appropriate skills and non-discriminatory attitudes as regards these CYP
  • Meet the branch
    Dr. Mark Lovell

    Dr. Mark Lovell

    I am a dual trained Consultant Child and Adolescent Learning Disability Psychiatrist working for one of the UK’s largest LD CAMHS teams, Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV). I have previously held positions within the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He has had involvement within projects for the Royal College of Psychiatrist and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. I am a member of the Child and Adolescent Intellectual Disability Psychiatry Network (CAIDPN) and have particular interests in Autism and Challenging Behaviour within the context of Intellectual Disabilities. You can contact me via events@acamh.org and find me on LinkedIn and on Twitter @dr_marklovell

    Dr. Max Davie

    I am a Consultant Community Paediatrician, working in Lambeth as part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital NHS Trust Community Services. I have a special interest in the assessment and diagnosis of neurodevelopmental conditions in school-age children and in the mental health of paediatric patients more generally. Previously I was at convenor of the Paediatric Mental Health Association and current Health Improvement Officer for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. I lead the How to Manage: Emotional and behavioural problems in community paediatrics course at the College. You can contact me via events@acamh.org and on Twitter @maxdavie, also follow the podcast @playisthething1, and for board games @games4families, finally I blog at Lambethpaedspoliticsbiscuits.wordpress.com

  • Join our Basecamp working group

    Please read the Code of Practice on this page and sign up at the bottom. Signing up indicates your agreement to abide by this Code.

    Scope: This document covers all aspects of community interaction and moderation on the ACAMH SIG Basecamp area.

    Moderation aims: The Basecamp area provides an opportunity for SIG members readers who wish to post content, discuss and debate issues more generally.

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    Moderation approach: Participants who seriously, persistently or wilfully ignore the community standards, participation guidelines or terms and conditions will have their posting privileges for all the SIG and ACAMH areas withdrawn.

    This is not an action that we take lightly or arbitrarily. However, we are aiming to create and maintain an online experience consistent with the values of ACAMH, and we reserve the right to make decisions which we feel support that. Please be aware that moderators may contact you by email in relation to your participation, especially where an issue comes up in relation to these community standards. Any advice they give/request they make should be adhered to, as our moderators are employed to enforce these community standards and create a constructive environment for everyone who contributes to our site.

    We will, when necessary, remove user postings or comments and any other content.*

    If a contribution is perceived as breaching the community guidelines set out above, then it will be removed by the community team, in the interests of keeping community areas of the site appropriate for the vast majority of the people who visit.

    (*NB: We will not edit user posts to change the meaning, spelling, or anything else intended by the user. Even if only part of a comment or posting is perceived as breaching the community guidelines, the whole thing may be removed. Also, when a comment or post is removed for any of the reasons above, it is sometimes necessary to delete subsequent messages which refer to explicitly or quote from the original (removed) comment, in order to preserve some notion of conversational thread. This may also happen because a later comment quotes directly the problematic bits of the original comment, which just perpetuates the problem. In such cases not every deletion will be marked individually.)

    We reserve the right to take steps or implement measures which we hope will benefit the whole community.

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    Please tick the box below to confirm you wish to join the Neurodevelopmental SIG. By ticking the box I confirm I have read the Code of Practice above and agree to abide by this Code.

     

  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders, an interview with Dr Max Davie

    Neurodevelopmental disorders are a neglected area of mental health practice, little mentioned in recent government policy documents.

    The evidence base is strong in theory but often hard to put into practice at the front line. Unhelpful misunderstandings and prejudices persist both in the general population and in professionals.

    Dr. Max Davie talks about this, and how you can get involved in ACAMH’s Neurodevelopmental Special Interest Group and upcoming conference Assessment and diagnosis in children with neurodevelopmental problems

    You can listen to this as podcast on SoundCloud or iTunes.

    Dr. Max Davie

    Dr. Max Davie

    Dr. Max Davie is a consultant community paediatrician, working in Lambeth as part of Evelina London Community services. He has a special clinical interest in the assessment and diagnosis of neurodevelopmental conditions in school-age children. He is Officer for Health Improvement at the RCPCH, and trustee and founder of the charity ADHD UK.

     

     

  • In Conversation… Intellectual Disabilities

    Dr Mark Lovell, and Mary Busk, talk to journalist Jo Carlowe about Intellectual Disabilities from a professional and personal viewpoint.

    Mary is a Family Carer Advisers in the Improving Health and Quality Team, part of the Learning Disability Programme for NHS England. Mark is a dual-trained Consultant Child and Adolescent Learning Disability Psychiatrist.

    You can listen to this podcast on SoundCloud or iTunes.


    Mark Lovell is a dual trained Consultant Child and Adolescent Learning Disability Psychiatrist working for 1 of the UK’s largest LD CAMHS teams. He works for Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV) and covers the South Tees area along with a multidisciplinary team. Mark has previously held positions within the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He has had involvement within projects for the Royal College of Psychiatrist and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. He is a member of the Child and Adolescent Intellectual Disability Psychiatry Network (CAIDPN) and has particular interests in Autism and Challenging Behaviour within the context of Intellectual Disabilities.

    Mary Busk
    Mary Busk

    Mary is a Family Carer Advisers in the Improving Health and Quality Team, part of the Learning Disability Programme for NHS England. Mary is also involved with the CYP part of the Transforming Care programme. Mary previously co-founded the National Network of Parent Carer Forums and was the Steering Group member for London.